The Caretaker
by impossible123
Summary: The Doctor is bored. He never goes alone during an adventure and Clara is the only person whom he feels comfortable with in these situations. But this time, he has to put up with a sick companion. Some twelveclara ('some' is an understatement xD )
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: I've been long thinking about writing a sick!Clara fanfic. Here's to the first chapter!**_

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The Doctor was _reading_ The Brief History of Time on the 1st floor of the console room. Seated on his favourite armchair beside the bookshelf just underneath the round things bathing him in blue-orangy light, the Doctor flipped through the pages.

 _Bored._

 _Bored._

 _Bored._

He rolled his eyes as the time lord removed his reading glasses.

 _Bored._

 _Read these pages thousands of times, but he had nothing else he could do, not even TARDIS maintenance._

He hated being alone without keeping himself occupied.

He wanted adventure, and with none other than his companion.

 _Clara….._

 _He missed her._

 _The person who was always ready for another adventure._

 _Why shouldn't he go now? After all, he possessed a time machine._

 _His very own time machine._

The Doctor snapped the book shut, sat up and placed it and the glasses on the armchair. He flew down the stairs, hurriedly inserted the coordinates to Clara's house, the date, the time and hastily pulled the lever down.

Wednesday it is!

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 _ **A/N: Chapter 2 coming up soon :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

Clara lay in bed, buried under a pile of quilts. She couldn't move…. And she didn't want to, actually. The biting pain in her joints failed to leave her alone to sleep in peace. And neither did her headache. It felt like her temples were constantly being tightened by an invisible vice of some sort.

It all began Monday. She felt relatively ok in the morning, so Clara went to school with her motorbike, as usual, after all. But as the hours went by, she felt a terrible discomfort in her throat and blamed it on the fact that she spent 10 minutes, trying to stop the students from talking. An hour later, she was almost going to fall asleep as Kelvin read Chapter 12 from Pride and Prejudice's third volume out loud to the rest of his fellow Year Eight students. And it was her favourite chapter. But she failed to surrender to the cold creeping into her system.

After the lesson, Clara went to pour coffee from the coffee pot when Adrian came up to her and told her she didn't look well, especially that she had large glazed eyes. He _emphasised_ that it was her abnormality and should probably go home and rest. She refused. After offering to take over her last two lessons, the companion reluctantly went to home early, trying her best to take care of herself.

Clara wiped her nose in the tissue clutched in her hand for the umpteenth time today. Or was it night? Didn't matter…. she had lost all sense of time. The companion laid there in the dark, unable to stay asleep for longer than a few minutes, constantly drifting in and out of sleep.

A sneeze.

 _Well…. That was new….._

Not just sneezing. She was tired of coughing and wheezing and groaning in pain all the time. The paracetamol tablets she normally takes for cases like these wasn't working this time. No pain relief at all. Guess she had to be strong enough to put up with the stuffiness and fever shifts and all the soreness that came with flu.

 _But she'll manage. She managed to put up with so many foreign and alien illnesses much worse than this. What could possibly be so different this time? It should be easier than some unknown outwardly illness she contracted a couple of months earlier. All she needed was to sleep through it all, leaving her body's immune system which has battled flu a million times before do its rightful job, and she'll wake up feeling as right as rain._

Clara's throat felt sore and particularly dry. But she didn't have the strength to reach out for the water jug she had on her bedside table, just an arm's reach away. It felt so far.

She delved deeper under the quilts as the young teacher began trembling, dripping cold sweat. And yet, her forehead was too warm. Her temperature soon returned back to normal.

 _Thank goodness. She had no plan to stay shivering helplessly for the next hour or so._

Tiredness suddenly washed over her.

 _At last… some sleep._

Clara slowly drifted further and further into sleep. Until a familiar wheezing and groaning sound from the kitchen made Clara grunt from under the sheets as the vice around her forehead tightened itself further. She had no energy to cover her ears from that deafening sound, or to sit up and hide.

 _She wanted no one to bother her, especially a grumpy alien from space who_ just _interrupted a peaceful nap she ought to have had_ hours _ago!_

 _Couldn't she just be left alone to sleep in peace?_

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 ** _A/N: Another chapter in... any comments... even constructive critisism (no flames) greatly appreciated. :D Till the next chapter... take care :D_**


	3. Chapter 3

"Clara... Ready for another adventure today?"

The house was dark. All the curtains were closed.

"Clara?"

A muffled sneeze came from the bedroom.

"Come on! Let's go, sleepy head." The Doctor said anxiously.

 _She_ always _feels like having an adventure._

And he's been so bored for so long...

"I don't really feel like it today." A weak nasal voice replied.

The Doctor walked closer to Clara, feeling a bit anxious.

A small head peeped out from under the quilts. "No Doctor. I'm sick. Really sick. Stay away." Her voice sounded hoarse.

"Time Lords are way superior than human beings in terms of battling a common flu, Clara." As he moved closer to her.

"Same old bluffing." She rolled her eyes.

Clara would've wanted to move away from him, because the companion felt she was a horrible sight, but every single joint in her body was screaming out for help.

The Doctor touched her forehead. It was searing hot, so warm that the Doctor's eyes widened in worry. He quickly scanned her with his sunglasses.

"Clara, I have to take you to the TARDIS."

"Just leave me. Hop two weeks into the future, I'm sure I'll be-" her sentence was cut off by a dry cough which made Clara's eyes water and her joints ache even more.

"Ow." She whined.

"If I leave you here, you won't even make it through one week. Clara, you aren't drinking or eating anything! How do you expect me to leave you so?"

"I feel dead already." Clara covered her head with the blankets.

"No you don't." The Doctor took off the mountain of quilts that was over Clara. She was wearing a navy blue silk pajama and was huddled in a foetal position, enclosing herself from the outside world.

"Oh Clara..." The Doctor murmured as he lowered down and slipped an arm under her bent knees and another around her torso, taking her in his arms as delicately as possible. Clara whimpered in pain as the Doctor huddled her against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder.

"What about your no-germs-on-." She coughed lightly, her eyes squeezed shut in discomfort as the Doctor began slowly walking to the TARDIS, making the least movement possible but at the same time panicking so he could heal her as soon as possible... To bring her out of her misery.

"Doesn't matter at the moment." He replied hastily.

All he wanted was to get his companion somewhere safe, where she could rest and recover.

The Doctor couldn't help but feel his hearts ache. The companion was pale, her clothes were damp and hot, sticking to her and dark rings under her eyes, lips only slightly apart and breathing with immense difficulty.

 _What am I going to do with you, Clara?_

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 _ **A/N- updating sickfic soon :D**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A:N: some slight humour and a lot of fluff... Always twelveclara related... Because there is never enough twelveclara in the world...**_

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The trip from Clara's bedroom in the flat to her bedroom in the TARDIS was tiring for the Doctor, not just physically. Clara was trapped into the unending circle of hoarse coughs and painful wheezes. She constantly curled in the Doctor's hold as the companion coughed as softly as she could in her fist, before finally giving in, slumping her head against the Doctor's shoulder, leaning helplessly against his chest wheezing. And the cycle begins again. His eyes were watering seeing her in so much pain, but he wouldn't permit that Clara sees him cry. Good thing she was tired.

"How long has it been going?" As the Doctor laid her in her bed and propped her up, covered in a thin, soft blanket.

Clara looked puzzled.

"I... Don't know."

"Seriously Clara?"

The Doctor sounded annoyed... Even more annoyed than usual... Actually...

He soniced her.

"5 days and 12 hours from first infection, which makes it... Around 3 days in bed."

"Courtney..." She coughed for the umpeenth time. The Doctor looked puzzled. "I sent her home on Friday because she came to school with flu. Always rebellious." She soon felt something cold under her tongue.

"Don't. Talk." The Doctor went to grab some more medicines from medbay.

Clara pulled the quilts even closer. She was already in pain and she felt delirious. Now all she needed was a 2000 year old time lord to bark at her.

He soon came back with a cup of water and a box of pills.

"Give." And he slipped the thermometer out of her mouth.

He looked worriedly at the reading.

"Hmmmm. 39.5°C. Certainly a fever."

"Thank you Professor Clever." And rolled her eyes again.

"The more you talk, the more it hurts." Said the Doctor, placing it on the bedside table.

"Fine." Clara sulked.

"Here, take this." And he handed her a pill as soon as she took out her hand from under the sheets.

"Ibuprofen, works wonders on aches and fevers." Said the Doctor. "Hope this works on you too... Since you're so stubborn."

She popped it in her mouth without even taking cause of his words (would be useless to care, anyway) and the Doctor placed a cup of water to her lips, which she was going to take from his hands.

"No Clara. Leave it too me. You seriously thing you can hold anything when you have biting joints?"

Clara said nothing. She knew he was right.

But she saw his caring side. Even if he was still 45% grumpy, but he knew that that was his way of caring.

And she should know... He starts to insult others and becomes grumpy when he's stressed.

Wait... Why should he be stressed, anyway?

When she was ready...

"Feeling any better?" He said, a bit calmer.

"Not much, but just enough." She croaked.

"Good, good." The Time Lord said, delved in thought, rubbing his very very light stubble.

Clara began shivering suddenly.

"Chills..." Said the Doctor. "The sedative should soon kick in."

The companion looked at him with her large glazed pleading eyes.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and sighed. "Why are you always doing it with the eyes?" His voice was louder than he thought it would.

Clara closed her eyes, sniffed and delved deeper under the quilts, praying to God that sleep would drown her, to release her both from the physical misery and the Doctor's comments. Her eyes closed shut, feeling a tear from her watery eyes slithering down as she thickly swallowed through her sore throat.

She soon felt a soft quilt being laid on top of her huddled form. The Doctor sat on the bed near her, laying down and wrapping his arms around his trembling companion, hugging her against him, trying to keep her warm. His hand gently brushed her cheek, drying it.

It felt surreal for both of them. They were getting ever closer (excluding the time lord's horrible temper... Nothing she could do to stop him from being so angry), but Clara never thought the Doctor would do such a thing. She tried to cuddle as close to him as possible making the least movement, longing for warmth, hoping it would end her misery.

"Thank you Doctor." Said Clara as she kept shivering, waiting for unconsciousness' merciful hand to put her to sleep.

The Doctor looked at her and smiled sadly as he smoothed her hair stuck to her forehead. He then tucked the sheets around her helpless form, cuddling her as much as possible.

"Sleep Clara."

Clara was breathing heavily from the fever, before she slipped into a deep sleep. The Doctor slipped away from her and exited the room to go and continue some TARDIS maintenance work.


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor had just finished arranging the console.

 _Better go check on Clara…_

He crept slowly to her room and entered. There she was… huddled in the same position as he left her, his back turned towards him. The Doctor slowly tiptoed to the other side of the bed to face her and delicately placed the back of his hand to her warm forehead to check her temperature. She immediately groaned and was taken slightly aback by the temperature change.

"Leave me alone." He heard her murmur under her breath.

"Clara, it's been 3 hours… I have to check you." As the Doctor stroked her warm cheeks to check yet another time.

"Bug off Doctor. You have other things you can annoy, firstly the TARDIS of yours."

"Clara, I need to help you." He was able to grab her wrist and check her pulse.

"I said _leave me alone_! You should've left me to sleep at my apartment when I told you so in the first place! I don't care if it meant getting worse for a few more days. But at least I could've slept" And she just simply jerked her hand out of his and turned over. The Doctor was taken aback by how angry she sounded. That may well have been the flu…. But it still hurt him…. He stayed wide eyed, trying to process what had happened. All he wanted to do was to try and help her. And she neglected herself. She needed all the help she could get. But Clara just wanted to poach in her own juices before realising it would be too late to relieve her from any sort of unnecessary pain. It was already a miracle that he had come to her…. A few more hours and she would have died of dehydration.

He moved silently towards the door. Hand on the door knob, the Doctor looked over his shoulder, seeing his companion had drifted back into a fever sleep, her lips slightly parted, bathed in that calming star light. He didn't even dare covering her with her blanket.

 _Better not…._

He turned his attention in front of him, slowly turning the door knob and slipping out the room before closing it behind him virtually silently.

The Time lord stroked the wall just near the door with utmost delicacy.

 _Take care of her for me, old gal…_

Heading towards the Library, the Doctor thought and thought….

 _Oh Clara…. How will I put up with you?_

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 ** _A/N: any feedback appreciated as always :D_**


	6. Chapter 6

_"Why did we come here Doctor?" said Clara, clattering her teeth as she hugged herself, wisps of white vapour making their way out of her mouth. "It's freezing." She was wearing a coat. True. But quite frankly it didn't seem enough. After all, there was barely any sunlight and a cold chill travelled through the air._

 _"Well, I thought you asked me to take you to see penguins." Said the Doctor, staring at her quizzically._

 _"After getting caught and tied to 2 columns in the middle of an alien desert, risking being eaten by sand piranhas? I'm still sunburnt!" the companion shouted._

 _The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "You wanted this, probably to compensate for the heat of the desert."_

 _"I didn't even say anything Doctor!" shouted Clara as the wind howled stronger. "You just pulled the lever down after being chased by the sand piranhas! I think your brain's melted…" Clara rolled her eyes and slowly walked away from the TARDIS, exploring the environment._

 _"I'm pretty sure you said penguins." The Doctor muttered under his breath. After a few moments of thinking about how he could have gone so wrong, the time lord noticed that his companion was already taking advantage of the situation, leading her own expedition._

 _"Hey, where are you going?" Said the Doctor, panting as Clara had walked quite a long distance._

 _She continued walking. "Now that we are here we might as well explore."_

 _The Doctor said nothing._

 _"No ice piranhas here I suppose….." Her muttering voice trailed away as Clara noticed something strange on the icy ground._

 _She walked closer to it, as the Doctor muttered things about climate and global warming._

 _A hole in the ice, making way to the water underneath._

 _Nothing strange about that._

 _She saw silver streaks in the water, shoals of fish making their way through the water._

 _Clara smiled as she moved closer to the edge of the rift, only few inches away from the verge._

 _Just then, everything happened so fast…._

 _The ice beneath her gave way._

 _She screamed a glass shattering shout._

 _The cold water filtering through her garments._

 _The heavy coat dragging her down before pulling herself up again._

 _"DOCTOR!" She was able to scream before being dragged down under the water once more._

 _"CLARA!" She heard the Doctor shout as he ran towards her, immediately trying to take her hand. But the cold wet hand slipped from his grasp, finding herself once again under water, feeling the cold sensation in her nostrils. Seeing that he wasn't capable of dragging out Clara using plan A, he took off his heavy coat and jumped into the water beside her._

 _Clara fought to stay on the surface, with the Doctor trying to heave her up to safety._

 _"Come on Clara!" He groaned, as Clara tried to grab the ice before crumbling under her fingers._

 _"CLARA JUST STAY. DON'T FIGHT!"_

 _Wait…._

 _What?_

" _CLARA WAKE UP!"_

Her eyes shot open. Her breath was short and she was fighting to get out of the cold water. But something... or rather some _one_ held her in place

"Clara look at me!"

Her eyes wizzed from one side of the room to the next. She had no idea where she was.

"Clara just, _calm down._ " The Doctor was smoothing her cheek as the panic in his companion's eyes started slowly melting away."You're safe in the TARDIS."

She slowly began to calm down, looking in the Doctor's troubled eyes.

"You're ok. You're in the bathroom. The fever was so high, your brain was nearing melting point. Had to throw you in ice water."

Clara relaxed further inside the bath, holding to the rim, tired from fighting.

The Doctor took a dry cloth, drowned it in the ice water and placed it on her hot forehead. To this, Clara closed her eyes. She hadn't felt this good in days…..

"Any better?" The Doctor asked.

Clara nodded, enjoying the pleasant feeling of the water clearing off the sweat from her forehead.

She soon heard the sonic scanning her from head to toe.

"Come on Clara. Shouldn't leave you in there for too long. I shouldn't have put you there in the first place. Risk of hypothermia. But better to take the risk than having a 100% chance of your brain boiling inside your skull if I hadn't cooled the fever down in some way."

The Doctor helped her up from the bath and wrapped her in a large towel, trying his best to dry her. At least he had tied her hair up before placing her in the bath.

"You continue to dry up. I'll go and get you dry things to put on." He smiled, and Clara thin lips curled in a feeble smile.

"Um... Doctor?" Clara hesitated, both due to cold and anxiousness.

"Mhm?" He responded as she was taking out the plug from the bath.

"I need to tell you something." She said.

"You can explain soon. Wouldn't want you to catch another cold and get worse." He smiled as he kissed her forehead. "It's going to be ok Clara." The Doctor reassured her.

"Thank you Doctor." The companion breathed.

The Doctor gave a weak smile as the only reply before leaving the bathroom but soon Clara heard from the corridor. "Don't worry, I won't look into your ladies' things drawer!"

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 **A/N: Hope you're enjoying the story! Will update asap. Any feedback appreciated :D**

 **Edit: Thanks** **AntimonyAvenger for your comment. Hopefully I made it a little bit more clear as to the dream/ nightmare in the beginning of the chapter. I wanted to keep it a bit mysterious but I guess it was just confusing xD I'm still a fairly amateur writer.. So any other advice appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7

"How are you?" Said the Doctor as he brought a case full of medicines and a mug of lemon tea.

"Feeling worse than ever." Replied Clara with a hoarse voice, as the Doctor placed the back of his hand on Clara's sweaty forehead.

"Hmph..." He said as lines appeared on his forehead and had his eyes and eyebrows in attack mode. He fished the cool thermometer from the medicine chest and placed it under her tongue. The companion delved deeper under the sheets, feeling a sense of helplessness and weakness, something difficult for her to admit, especially after being the Doctor's companion for so long.

 _Becoming so breakably human._

Clara attentively followed him with her glazed eyes as he set up warm tea from the pot.

The Doctor took out the thermometer as he looked worriedly at the scale.

"Even the fever's risen."

"Aga-?" The companion's word was cut off by the rasping feeling against her throat.

"Nothing we can do, I'm afraid. Not even yesterday's cold bath was effective." Sighed the Doctor, almost feeling defeated.

"The fever doesn't feel that high, but everywhere aches." Clara groaned.

"Think the ibuprofen's worn out. Sit up." Gestured the Doctor.

"I can't." She croaked.

"Oh, come on Clara." He groaned.

"When it comes to caring for others, you really don't sound like a doctor." She tried her best to sit up.

It was just then that Clara's persistent cough erupted.

"Oh Clara." She couldn't stop as she curled into a ball. The Doctor sat near her, huddling close and smoothing her hair whilst shushing and easing her. Sometimes, he was too angry with Clara... Too impatient... Too _him_. After all, she was sick.

"Oh Clara. Clara, Clara."

 _I'm sorry, my Clara._

"What will I do to help you?" He continued.

 _Apart from being less harsh, yo_ _u've already done enough, Doctor._

After having calmed down, in the end, the Doctor helped her up. He popped the pill from its blaster packet, handing it to her and swallowing it with a few sips of ginger tea which slipped down her throat like needles, and threatened to cough. She soon handed him the mug.

"No no no. You're dehydrated, Clara." And the Doctor pushed it back to her gently after refusing to take anymore.

Clara grimaced at the contents of the mug.

"It's that or the IV." The time lord continued.

She already had had a horrible and painful experience with IVs when she was a little girl... Those huge needles, that painful sting when an inexperienced nurse came to prick the needle inside of her vein. Even though he was the Doctor, she was scared of them nonetheless.

"Doctor?" Clara mumbled.

"Don't talk that much Clara." He said as he boxed the rest of the medicines and cleared the stuff.

"I... Had to tell you something." Clara muttered.

"Oh... Yes... Sorry." The Doctor sat down at the side of the bed. "Tell me, Clara."

As soon as the companion parted her lips to speak, the Doctor stopped her.

"In the least words possible. For the sake of your sore throat." Clara thought for a little while, her short fingernails tapping against the mug's hard ceramic.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry... about what happened. I was too ill tempered. It's just I felt so tired and irritable that..." Clara was soon stopped by a light cough. The Doctor wrapped her in a light embrace, while the companion slowly calmed down, resting her head on his shoulder still holding on to the quarter filled mug.

"I know, Clara." He let his long bony fingers pass through her short damp hair. "It was the flu that did the talking, not you."

"Thank you Doctor. For understanding." She breathed.

"No need to thank me Clara. I will always forgive you." And he kissed her hair before pulling her away gently.

 _'Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?'_

Clara quickly slipped under the sheets, after she had drunk it all, her eyes glazed, trying to control the oversize.

"Should be better in a moment." The Doctor smiled sadly.

"Doctor?" Clara said half asleep. Her throat was much better after that tea. It truly works miracles.

"Why do you care so much but at the same time so short tempered?" She laughed slightly. She could feel the Doctor was annoyed by her question, but still did his best to find the right answer.

"I'm short-tempered by nature, Clara. You can't expect a person to change all of a sudden."

 _But she_ did _change him._

 _For the better._

"And why wouldn't I care for you, Clara Oswald?"

She hummed softly with a wide smile on her face as the Doctor smoothed her forehead.

"Sleep tight, my Clara." And pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before delving into a deep sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: apologies for taking longer than usual to update... But today was my first day of summer recess and I'm finally ready from exams *squeals in d**_ _ **elight*. So here's another chapter... More fluff :D**_

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The Doctor opened his companion's bedroom door slowly, peeping inside to see if Clara was asleep. He smiled once he saw her resting peacefully under her blanket. The Time Lord could barely see her, but he knew she was there... He could feel her in the room; bathed under the light of the dim light of the stars. He walked near her and sat gently on a side of Clara's bed and rested his head on the pillow. He smiled as he gazed at Clara, lying on her side, calmer than before. He couldn't resist himself from feeling his hearts twitch. She looked so pale... So fragile... So easily broken. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to Clara. Not to _his_ Clara.

The Time Lord brushed Clara's whitish soft cheek with the back of his fingers, removing any lone strands of hair stuck to her face before tucking them gently behind her ear. He continued to smooth her cheek, as if unable to pull himself from the spell he had gotten himself into.

 _So calm... So peaceful... So vulnerable._

 _He had a duty of care to take care of her, especially after Danny Pink died_

 _His companion felt more alone than ever. And he knows how miserable one may feel when left alone, especially after a trauma of death... And Cybermen resurrections..._

 _He knew..._

Clara breathed a laugh.

"You shouldn't be here, daft old man." Mumbled the companion as her thin lips curled into feeble smile, turning closer to his touch. "You have better things to do."

"Not as important as taking care of you, Clara." The Doctor sung her name.

She laughed lightly as she delved deeper into her soft sheet, her weak giggle turning into a soft cough. "Since when did you show your soft side this much?"

The Doctor laughed too. But he lowered down to press a kiss on her warm forehead before smoothing it. Clara closed her eyes and her thin lips were still curled in a smile. The Doctor's kiss rebrought some of the lost colour in her cheeks, blushing just a little.

"I'm much better, Doctor. No need to worry about me. Thank you." Clara reassured him. Not that she felt all that better... But it was progressing for the better.

"Can I keep you company?" He didn't even wait to get an answer from her. And she didn't even need to answer him. The Doctor sat up and rested his back against the bed's headboard, moving closer to Clara, his hand slithering around her and pulling her closer to his chest. Clara felt his twin hearts beat contently, and she nuzzled her nose against his chest, smiling contently. She breathed in his scent. Not that she really could... Her nose was blocked and could hardly breathe normally.

But the smell of time-travel was so so strong that Clara could easily feel comforted by it. The smell of space, with a hint of sweet and just a tad of mint. The perfect concoction which would make anyones heart flutter with excitment... It was the scent of adventure. But for her, it was meant the presence of someone who cared gor her and respected her. Someone who mattered too much for her. Someone she would never betray... Never again.

The Doctor smoothed her hair softly as the companion slowly succumbed herself to sleep once again, surrounded by each other's mingled aura.

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 _ **A/N: this was kind of a short chapter... And it might be the last from this story (might update it though...) Any thoughts or feedback? :)**_

 _ **If updating... The next chapters will probably will include more hurt/ comfort... Because I'm obsessed with twelveclara hurt/ comfort xD**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: thank you so much for the lovely comments and all the useful feedback you have given me! Thanks also for all the loves and follows :D I appreciate them so much and it gives me motivation to write for you readers and helps me develop my writing :D**_

 _ **I've decided to updated this story. Hope you'll enjoy it! Here's to another chapter :D**_

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The Doctor never left her side, wanting to keep her company. And he was scared that if something happens, the Doctor would have to run to her bedroom as soon as the TARDIS would say that something was wrong. He wouldn't work in peace. So he took little cat naps, made calculations and assumptions in his head, what they were going to do next, after Clara got better... Maybe a picnic on the Moon... Or a trip to visit Picasso...

He would sometimes stay looking at her, her pale skin drenched in sweat, resting through the cold.

 _Clara_... So beautiful, so wonderful...

His lips curled in a smile.

He missed those large brown eyes that would swallow whole planets.

They were still hidden... Undiscovered behind her eyelids.

He missed her voice... music to his ears, as was her laugh and just the mention of her name.

And her smile... He was mesmerised by it. He would automatically smile when she did. Because it made him feel alive. Clara was happy? Then _he_ is happy. No... Not happy... Ecstatic.

She was so... So...

 _So_ perfect.

She was more than he deserved.

 _"I don't deserve a friend like you."_

 _"I'm terribly sorry, but I'm exactly what you deserve."_

 _No, Clara... You deserve more than my frowns and my anger... Me and my horrible temper..._

He had become too protective of her...

She knew him more than anyone... Because she was the only friend he had. He wouldn't imagine his days without her. She was his companion... And like any other companion, she would some day leave him. But he was too scared _how_ she would leave him. Clara had tried to stop travelling, twice... but it was like an addiction.

A _dangerous_ addiction she could never live without.

And he had brought her to it...

It could injure her...

It could _kill_ her.

Some companions had died... And he'd had some as daring as her. The Doctor was rightfully scared that she would be one of them... Those... Brave... companions who had fallen in battle.

He would lose her... And he couldn't bare a thought of Clara leaving him... With her teachery voice and bossy attitude correcting him and annoying him. Because she was _his_ teacher... And he cared for her with all his heart.

 _Ohhhh Clara..._

His sweet little Clara.

He breathed a laugh.

 _That adventure on the Moon..._

 _"I have a duty of care, okay? You know what that is?"_

 _Of course I do, Clara. Because I have a duty of care... Had and always will. And I will never betray the promise to take care of you. I will never let anyone harm you, Clara Oswald._

 _Over my dead body._

... ...

The Doctor was having one of his cat naps, in a relatively deep sleep

 _Dreaming about Gallifrey..._

 _About how he was going to find it..._

 _His home..._

 _Orange skies..._

 _Such beauty..._

 _The coordinates Missy gave him._

Doctor...

 _It was Clara... But she wasn't near him.._

Doctor...

 _He panicked._

 _Clara wasn't by his side._

Don't die, Doctor...

He suddenly jumped out of his slumber, his eyes shooting open to the wall, whizzing from one side to the other. The Doctor somewhat settled down.

 _Oh... Still in the TARDIS_.

Clara's bedroom...

 _Why was he there?_

"Run... You have to..." Someone mumbled near him.

 _The dream..._

Clara was by his side, forehead drenched in sweat, hyperventilating.

Dreaming.

"Human... No daleks..." She continued.

 _What was she dreaming about?_

He took a wet cloth from the cool water bowl he had left on the bedside table and smoothed her forehead with it.

The companion stirred slightly. "It's ok, Clara. It's fine." He tried to calm her down. Her chapped lips were slightly apart, her skin still pale and sickly.

The time lord looked at his Universal watch.

 _Six human hours since the last tablet._

The Doctor cautiously stepped off bed, replacing his hand with softer pillows underneath Clara's head.

She moaned at the change, but did nothing else, she was too delirious to.

He poured a glass of water from the jug and smoothed Clara's forehead.

"Clara... Come on. Wake up"

She groaned as she opened her confused eyes only slightly.

"Time for your medicine, Cla." The companion sighed before cupping her hand waiting for the time lord to place the pill into her hand. She feebly threw it into her mouth. "Here. Drink." The Doctor propped up her head slightly higher with his hand and she took small sips, soon turning into gulps. "Good, Clara." She soon finished the whole glass and licked her dry chapped lips. "Good good." He placed the glass on the bedside table before laying back on the bed, curling his arm around her once again and smoothing her head. Clara coughed slightly before she curled closer to the Doctor. He pressed a wet kiss to her forehead. The woman hummed as a response, her lips curling into a soft weak smile... the Doctor felt his hearts warm up nonetheless. He smiled too, looking at her resting peacefully. "Sleep well Clara."


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor opened his eyes to the dim lights of stars lighting the dark room.

Clara already began showing further signs of improvement. Her skin had regained its former pale pink-reddish colour, and her coughs and fever had died down a bit more. She was still having temperature changes once in a while but it was surely an improvement. Clara could return back to normal in no time. The Doctor stayed near her most of the time, seeing that she was well cared for.

He looked at his companion. She was sleeping peacefully in the Doctor's arms, her face lit by starlight from the TARDIS projection above them. The Doctor had decided to go and organise some things in the TARDIS, leaving Clara to sleep peacefully before returning back to her room and staying near her, keeping him company.

The Doctor smoothed her forehead with the tip of his fingers, feeling his rough calloused fingertips rubbing against her soft, fragile skin. Clara stirred.

"Doctor," she breathed and smiled.

The time lord bent down, kissed her forehead and huddled her closer, rubbing his cheek to her head.

She too opened her eyes to the faint yet numerous silver gems in the sky projection.

"Clara." He sung her name, almost in a faint purr.

Her beady eyes drifted to him.

"Hello daft old man." Clara croaked but still smiled.

The Doctor couldn't help but grin too.

"The stars..." She coughed slightly as she looked upward. "Beautiful, aren't they."

She looked at him. He was on the verge of crying.

"Please don't cry, Doctor." She held his shirt. "You've always been there." She laughed before the giggle turned to what felt like a never ending cough. The Doctor protectively pulled her closer to him, rubbing her back and calming her. Finally her cough died down. "Even for such a simple cold." She said, breathing a laugh.

"You know it wasn't that simple Clara. If I hadn't come at your flat, it would have been too late. And you know that, don't you?" The companion delved deeper into the blankets and closer to the Doctor. He already knew the answer, of course."I'm afraid there's nothing else I can do, especially for your throat. All it needs is time. And sleep." The Doctor continued as he passed his long, bony fingers in his companion's smooth short hair. "It has to take its own time."

"You've done more than enough, Doctor." As she snuggled against him, bringing in his scent, taking in his body heat to warm her, and console her.

She was home.

* * *

 _ **A/N: this will most probably be the last chapter. Thanks again for all the feedback you've given me (all favourites follows and reviews). I've appreciated every single one 3 :D. Hopefully I'll start posting another story next Saturday.**_


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